Fish Tales (Kaidan)

[Zarius Shine]

Zip grinned and shook his head as he took Kaidan’s hand. “It might be the blind leading the blind here. I can’t claim to be the essence of grace myself. But maybe we can keep one another from getting run over or drowning or falling into a grill – any of those unpleasant little catastrophes. That would just really ruin our evening.” Lacing his fingers in Kaidan’s, Zip felt more than a bit of a head rush, things were just going so perfectly. He noted the color in Kaidan’s cheeks and he could feel the warmth in his own face, generated by that simple touch of skin to skin. Pulling Kaidan to the door, he said, “At least this way we make a united front against potential assault by pedestrian. And four eyes – that has to be better than two, right?” They headed out into the corridor and towards the doors that lead to the outside. Pushing one of these open with his shoulder, Zip lead Kaidan out into the soft twilight of a Fall evening. The sun was setting but still lingered just above the horizon, enough so that the lighting was that dim gray before dark sets in in earnest. It had been a beautiful day and now the Parrish blue vault of the sky stretched out over them without a trace of cloud to be seen. In the subdued light, all was reduced to shades of much muted color. As they began to walk down the neat path that lead to the street, Zip positioned himself so that their shoulders touched occasionally, and their arms brushed together as they fell into step together. He didn’t feel shy at all, just very, very, very happy – with that heady intoxication of the beginning of some new relationship, however it took shape. They soon turned into the street and as they walked, passing others who were going to and fro about their last minute business of the day, they chatted animatedly, about this and that, with more than a few laughs thrown in. It didn’t take long at all to reach the harbor, and thence to the fish market, where many of the vendors had already packed away their wares and gone off to their own suppers. But as the stall that Zip lead Kaidan to was one that sold cooked items, it was one that usually stayed open until after people had a chance to show up and purchase their evening meal. As they approached, Zip slowed and said, “Like I said, they have fish on skewers that is really, really good. But they have lots of other things too. I haven’t bought anything here that I didn’t like. But, I’m not picky – at least when it comes to food.” He grinned at Kaidan, and added in a lower voice, “Men, yeah, maybe much more picky there.” He gave Kaidan’s hand a gentle squeeze and they stepped forward to peruse what was on offer that evening, Zip’s stomach making loud noises in anticipation of being fed.

[Zarius Shine]

Zip grinned and shook his head as he took Kaidan’s hand. “It might be the blind leading the blind here. I can’t claim to be the essence of grace myself. But maybe we can keep one another from getting run over or drowning or falling into a grill – any of those unpleasant little catastrophes. That would just really ruin our evening.” Lacing his fingers in Kaidan’s, Zip felt more than a bit of a head rush, things were just going so perfectly. He noted the color in Kaidan’s cheeks and he could feel the warmth in his own face, generated by that simple touch of skin to skin. Pulling Kaidan to the door, he said, “At least this way we make a united front against potential assault by pedestrian. And four eyes – that has to be better than two, right?” They headed out into the corridor and towards the doors that lead to the outside. Pushing one of these open with his shoulder, Zip lead Kaidan out into the soft twilight of a Fall evening. The sun was setting but still lingered just above the horizon, enough so that the lighting was that dim gray before dark sets in in earnest. It had been a beautiful day and now the Parrish blue vault of the sky stretched out over them without a trace of cloud to be seen. In the subdued light, all was reduced to shades of much muted color. As they began to walk down the neat path that lead to the street, Zip positioned himself so that their shoulders touched occasionally, and their arms brushed together as they fell into step together. He didn’t feel shy at all, just very, very, very happy – with that heady intoxication of the beginning of some new relationship, however it took shape. They soon turned into the street and as they walked, passing others who were going to and fro about their last minute business of the day, they chatted animatedly, about this and that, with more than a few laughs thrown in. It didn’t take long at all to reach the harbor, and thence to the fish market, where many of the vendors had already packed away their wares and gone off to their own suppers. But as the stall that Zip lead Kaidan to was one that sold cooked items, it was one that usually stayed open until after people had a chance to show up and purchase their evening meal. As they approached, Zip slowed and said, “Like I said, they have fish on skewers that is really, really good. But they have lots of other things too. I haven’t bought anything here that I didn’t like. But, I’m not picky – at least when it comes to food.” He grinned at Kaidan, and added in a lower voice, “Men, yeah, maybe much more picky there.” He gave Kaidan’s hand a gentle squeeze and they stepped forward to peruse what was on offer that evening, Zip’s stomach making loud noises in anticipation of being fed.

[Kaidan Arianos]

As Kaidan's hand was taken, hand in hand by Zip, all he could do was smile and beam at the slight feelings of euphoria he was getting from being around Zip. The night was indeed beautiful, and something that Kaidan could appreciate. The stars would soon be out, a subject he knew a little bit about, and he might express some of that knowledge to Zip, possibly, as it would turn out to be quite a beautiful night. As they made their way down the streets, and towards the docks, Kaidan did indeed chat with Zip as much as possible, enjoying the way he was holding his hand, their arms brushing up against each other. He had originally thought that he would be embarrassed holding hands with another man, but, well, he didn't feel embarrassment at all! He felt good, instead of embarrassed, and those feelings of euphoria he wanted to hang onto for as long as possible, as he didn't think he had ever really felt anything like this before. When they finally arrived at the fish market stand, and began perusing the stand, Kaidan listened intently to what Zip was saying about it, and when he squeezed his hand a bit, Kaidan turned to him, and smiled. "Never a bad thing to be picky about some things," he grinned as he spoke. Allowing his soft brown gaze to shift back towards the food, which would be the current task at hand, he turned towards Zip again, and asked, "See anything you like? Anything you'd want to get? I was thinking about the fish on a skewer that you were talking about, that sounds delicious right about now..." As he spoke, he continued to look at all of the various items they happened to have, taking in the scene around them, as well as the warmth that Zip's hand was providing his own. All in all, Kaidan felt the night was going great thus far, and he certainly had brought enough mizas to pay for both him and Zip, so that wouldn't be a problem...

OOCSorry for taking a bit longer to get to this! Had school today >.<

[Zarius Shine]

Zip was looking at the various sea foods that had been prepared at the stall, to tempt the taste buds of those passing by. He pointed to a small octopus and its tentacular arrangement on a plate, saying, “That looks fun! Can you imagine? Meeting one of those when you went swimming?” He reached over with his free hand and wiggled his fingers under Kaidan’s ear. “Do you like to swim? My father taught me, when I was really little.” He paused, unsure still if the topic of fathers was a sore one for the other student. To try to change the subject, he moved in front of Kaidan, finally releasing his hand. Passing between his friend and the stall, he was facing Kaidan as he moved and briefly put both hands on Kaidan’s upper arms, leaning in as he passed. “I’d take a pass on the mussels, though.” He said in a whisper near Kaidin’s ear. “You never know if they’re fresh. And besides, the way they look…ugh” He gave a pretend shudder and grimace, and then chortled as he moved on to the end of the counter. “I think I’ll stick with the fish.” He held three fingers up to the man behind the front of the stall. “Three skewers please. With salt.”

[Kaidan Arianos]

"Actually, my parents never really bothered to teach me how to swim," he replied, a small frown upon his face. "But that's okay, maybe you can teach me how to swim some day!" he then said, his frown turning upside down in order to turn into a big grin. "My parents should have taught me when I was younger, you know, living in a coastal city and all that, but well, stuff happened, and I guess we just never got around to it," he stated plainly, not really wanting to delve into the fact that his father had passed away from some unknown disease about five years prior to now. When he leaned in to speak about the mussels, Kaidan briefly looked past him, and saw the "mussels" he was referring to upon a tray. They definitely didn't look entirely appetizing, and so he nodded, and said, "I think i'll definitely pass on them..." He grinned, and then awaited Zip to order his food, and stood up next to him at the stand. "I'll take the same," he said, a grin upon his face as he looked sidelong towards Zip, and then got out the requisite Mizas to pay for the fish for himself and Zip. Once they were served, he grinned at Zip, and said, "These look absolutely delicious!" Then whenever Zip started eating, so did Kaidan, at the same time. It was good to enjoy a meal with somebody that he just met, and it made him feel good as well, knowing that Zip was enjoying himself too. He just hoped he could continue making this good of an impression on him, as he had been. Last thing he wanted to do was screw this up, as he had never really had any experience with this type of thing before...

[Zarius Shine]

Zip hadn’t expected Kaidan to pay for his food, and he opened his mouth to protest. But then he had an idea and shifted his intended refusal of the other student’s generosity to say, “Hey, I didn’t expect that, but thanks. Now I owe you one and you’ll have to let me reciprocate.” He grinned cheekily, as the vendor began to assemble their order. After Kaidan handed over the coins, the man handed them each three charred wooden skewers upon which were tender chunks of grilled white fish, seasoned with salt, pepper, basil and lemon. They moved off with the purchase in hand, heading towards a pile of overturned crates. Seating himself on one of these, Zip sat with one ankle resting comfortably atop the opposite knee, and said, “I could teach you to swim, I’m pretty sure. That’d be fun – and useful too. Building up muscles and all that.” He had been thinking more and more about actually putting his dreams into action, and traveling. Mizahar really was a dangerous place – and there would be little room for amateur slip ups. There were very few who traveled outside the cities unless accompanied by a well armed and skilled caravan, unless they went by ship. Now that might be a possibility too, he thought. His gaze took in the docks around them, the various seafaring men that still were working here and there, though the activity level was winding down. It was all completely foreign to him, this business of ships, though raised in a sea port. “I wonder if any part of the university expedition might be by sea?” he mused. “Have you ever been on a ship, Kaidan?” Zip blew on the still piping hot fish and very tentatively put his mouth to the skewer, drawing his lips back and trying only to touch the hot food with his teeth.

[Kaidan Arianos]

Kaidan smiled as Zip said that he'd have to let him reciprocate the good deed he had done, by paying for his meal that evening. Nodding his head as he took the food, he said, "And reciprocate i'll certainly let you do as well." Taking a seat upon a crate across from Zip, so that he could look at him directly whilst talking to him, and pay much more attention to him, he'd blow on his first fish to cool the steaming fish off a bit, before carefully taking a bite into it. It was hot, but that didn't bother him too too much, rather it tasted delicious. As he ate a bit of it, he listened to what Zip was asking him, about the sea, and if he had ever been on a boat before. The answer was no, he had never really been on a boat or thought about it, but he did indeed start wondering the same thing, if the University had trips that would take them by sea to various research points. Thinking on it for a few moments, he finally said, "Well, I've never been on a boat before, but that wouldn't deter me from going on one if the university did do a research trip that way. I'm sure if they took a research trip to Mura, or the Konti Isles, then they'd definitely have to take a boat there... not sure there's any other way to get there other than by boat." He smiled, as he spoke, taking another careful bite in to the hot fish on a skewer, before chewing, and swallowing, in order to speak once more. "I believe Mura is closest to us... perhaps if we were to assist the University in the planning of a research trip, we might do something like take a boat to Mura, and spend some time studying there, then take it back to the mainland, travel to Kalinor, spend some time studying there, and then head back to Zeltiva or something... Yes, it would probably be quite a long trip, but I think it would be worth it for the studying we'd be able to do, the culture and botany research we'd be able to delve into, and the new experiences we'd have..." he finished speaking, and then continued to eat the delicious fish while patiently awaiting a response from Zip, as to the possible proposed Itinerary that he had come up with off the top of his head that moment...

[Zarius Shine]

Zip ate his fish as hastily as he could, considering it was so hot. But he was hungry and his stomach demanded food. Listening to the speculative itinerary that Kaidan outlined, he bit and chewed and swallowed two bites, before nodding and saying, “I hadn’t really thought about Mura – don’t know why. Maybe it’s all those Konti peering into my soul.” He laughed. “But you know, that sounds like a great idea. I’d like to see what it’s like – traveling by ship. Hopefully…” he took another bite and swallowed it mostly whole. “We wouldn’t get seasick.” He ate a bit more, and then said, “I don’t know what’s being planned but yeah, if we get in on the ground floor maybe we’ll have the best shot at getting to go along. And I think you’re right. It would mean delaying getting our certificates. But seems like the experience would be well worth it, right? The world is our laboratory?” He laughed. “Who knows? Maybe you can even teach me something about plants? I wouldn’t mind. It’s all good right? Any type of knowledge. I don’t know why I’ve always been so interested in history. I guess it’s just like…reading great stories.” He ate a bit more and asked, “Do you like to read? Or write?” Grinning in a sheepish way, he confessed, “I love to do both – and I write really the most gods awful poetry ever penned. My stories are a bit better, though.”

[Kaidan Arianos]

Taking a bite of his fish, Kaidan smiled when Zip was talking about them going to Mura possibly with a research trip from the University. When he spoke of them getting seasick, he shook his head, and then said, "Who knows? Won't know until we try!" Another grin crossed his face as he continued to listen to everything that Zip was saying, and when asked if he liked to read or write, he said, "I enjoy reading... mostly about plants and the stars I guess one could say... History can be interesting sometimes, especially if it's history from long ago..." As he spoke, he didn't mention the word valterrean, though that was what he was referring to. He enjoyed reading history of the way the world once was, before the divine cataclysm had decimated it. But they were mostly stories, stories of a world that once was, never to be seen again, at least, not in their lifetimes. Taking another bite of the fish, he looked towards Zip, and then said, "As for writing, i'm not so much of a writer... but I know enough to be able to take notes in class for future reference." As he spoke, it was truth that he was speaking, he knew how to write, just didn't write poetry, stories, or anything of the sort. Instead he focused his writing on classwork, as well as botany-related subjects. Turning his head towards the docks as he finished another piece of fish, he then said, "It's good to have something one is passionate about... and to be able to teach others, and pass along that knowledge. Anytime you want to know anything about plants, or botany, you can feel free to ask me, and i'll answer to the best of my knowledge..." Offering his knowledge made him feel good about himself, in the fact that he'd be able to help others learn more than just what's in their little box, and expand their horizons a bit, just like he'd love to expand his own horizons...

[Zarius Shine]

They ate and chatted and ate some more and talked some more, until all the fish was done, and Zip was licking his fingers, until he finally pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and more politely wiped them clean. Evening was fully upon them and the sky was twilight dark, many stars now shining overhead. Zip pulled his legs up onto the crate and crossed them before him, sitting Indian style, his fingers wrapped about his ankles. He stretched his head back a bit, looking upwards, and asked, “So – you’ve studied astronomy? I know, like, nothing about the stars. But I need to learn – I like to make maps and it could be really helpful to do both, star charts and land maps.” He looked over to Kaidan. “I met a Jamoura about two weeks ago. He studies the stars. He was fascinating – I could introduce you to him, if you like.” The two were separated by only about 1.5 meters, and Zip could still very well see Kaidan, even in the dim light. Now that his stomach was satisfied once more, he was able to devote a bit more attention to his subtle scrutiny of the other student. Kaidan was very easy on the eye, and Zip enjoyed just hanging out with him like this, being very casual and relaxed, and not too bothered by trying to act a certain way. It made such a nice change from being with Simon. He glanced over his shoulder, at the row of lights winking intermittently along the wharf, stretching out to the water. “Hey, you want to take a walk?” he asked, though he’d be fine just sitting if that’s what Kaidan preferred.